Ixthus Instrumentation
has been appointed as the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor
for the complete range of high accuracy fibre optic displacement
sensors from USA manufacturer Philtec. The durable non-contact
range provides highly repeatable position measurement at bandwidths
up to 350 kHz over distances up to 50 mm, and with resolution
as low as 2 nanometres.
Available with digital or analogue output hardware, Philtec fibre
optic displacement sensors measure the intensity of reflected
light from target surfaces using fibre optic bundles. The intrinsically
safe technology is impervious to magnetic fields and high voltage
environments and is an excellent alternative to capacitive and
inductive sensors.
Well suited to harsh environments such as cryogenic, high temperature
and ultra high vacuum, the compact sensor's dimensions (with
fibre optic tip diameter as small as 0.5 mm) allows measurements
inside of mechanisms or submerged in fluids.

Two basic types of sensor are available - Reflectance Dependant
(Type D) and Reflectance Compensated (Type RC). D versions determine
object displacement along the axis of the sensor as required
for vibration monitoring or linear stage position measurement,
whilst the RC version measures objects moving perpendicular to
the sensor such as cylindrical shaft run-out.

Both D and RC versions can be supplied with a choice of digital
and analogue signal output hardware in single and multi-channel
formats. Analogue suits high bandwidth, dynamic applications
such as servo position feedback with bandwidths up to 1 MHz possible.
The digital output hardware features a linear RS232 output with
a 5 kHz sampling rate, and with measurement storage possibilities
suiting process control and absolute distance measurement. Philtec
application control software is also available.
For vacuum applications up to 10-11 Torr, a range of pass-through
sealed interfacing flanges are available and Philtec are able
to customise standard product to exactly match customers requirements.